Is Punishing a Cat Effective?
Published March 4, 2010
I recently ran across some feline-related "words of wisdom," obviously written by a true cat lover which caught my eye, instantly perked my interest, and got me to do some serious thinking. She wrote, "If I saw a cat owner punishing their cat to try and stop the cat doing something that they didn't like, who should I decide deserves to be punished? The person or the cat?"
Since a simple definition of the word "punishment" is "A penalty imposed for wrongdoing", we have to carefully compare the thought processes of felines with their human companions. Obviously cats don't think along the same lines as we humans. For a couple of examples: When some folks catch a cat in the act of scratching their furniture, some may consider this to be a heinous crime. A cat pouncing onto a kitchen countertop or dining room table may be considered by some humans to be an almost equally distressing infraction.
When a kitty becomes fascinated with an object which is considered, "off limits" and start playing with it, some people go ballistic. With a swift knee-jerk reaction they immediately, in a loud and raucous tone start yelling at the cat, squirting kitty with a water gun or begin to shower them with nasty smelling liquids. They may slap them, rap them on their sensitive noses or poke them, or even worse, banish them to a room.
Of course the "poorly behaved" cat has absolutely no idea that a transgression has been made, as it is only exhibiting natural feline behaviors. Some fabric textures are so appealing and attractive and "altitude" is everything, so when their human starts punishing their cats for normal feline behavior, the cat gets very confused and distressed.
So we might ask ourselves the question, "is punishing a cat appropriate at all in the first place?" Personally I find no value in punishment at all, since cats do not respond to negative reinforcement as a training method. The word "discipline" is definitely an oxymoron in the feline vocabulary.
In fact there are many effective and pleasant methods which can be used in training a cat. Since cats are highly intelligent and sensitive, they quickly learn and respond to positive reinforcement. Rather than teaching a cat to associate a natural behavioral trait which is considered unacceptable with something unpleasant, why not reward kitty for behaving in an acceptable manner.
For example: Providing a cat with an appropriate scratching post, covered with a rough textured fabric and is at least three feet in height so they can fully stretch their muscles and clean their nail sheaths is easily substituted for the couch. When kitty uses the scratching post, immediately reward them with a treat and lots of praise. Distracting a cat with a toy when it is exhibiting unwanted behavior is a very effective training method. Cats do learn rather quickly that they receive affection and play time with these types of positive reinforcement.
Of course to be a true cat lover rather than just a cat owner, just accepting some behaviors and working around them is the highest form of acceptance. Establishing a true partnership with a feline pays off untold dividends in establishing a close and working relationship.
Using punishment as a training method will only result in creating a fearful, mistrusting, stressed out and unhappy kitty. Positive reinforcement and accepting interactions will, on the other hand, highly enhance the experience and delight of being owned by a cat.
What training methods have you used that have been effective? Leave a comment and share.
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
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Comments (10)
I have a 2 1/2 year old that has the worst behavior of any cat I've ever owned. She is also the most adorable cat I've ever had. Yes, I do believe in punishing her when she is totally out of control. I put her in her carrier for about 10 minutes to give her a time out. She responds very well to this and when I start yelling at her for bad behavior she goes to her carrier automatically. When I let her out, she displays extreme affection as to say mommy I'm sorry for misbehaving. At times, I feel she's very aware of her behavior because she will look at me when she's attempting to do something I don't approve of and if I give her that look or go towards her, she'll stop. For the most part, I just let her live out her natural instincts to go wild, but sometimes it's overwhelming. This cat litterlay climbs the wall, which I've never seen another cat do before. I love my kitty and wouldn't trade her for the world. I also have a 16 year old cat that gets very annoyed at the little one's behavior.
When my younger cat (he's 10, recently adopted & still quite kittenish) tries to get my attention he will get up onto my computer workstation, which he KNOWS is off-limits, and, as I don't always have time to play or distract him with a toy have found an excellent alternative "discipline" method. I have a can of compressed air to clean my keyboard and when he jumps up all I have to do now is show him the canister. It only took two short blasts to his haunch area (would never do this to his face) and he was gone! "Ooh, you got air all over me Mom!" This in addition to a stern verbal warning was all that was needed and no water stains on furniture, or, more importantly, near electronic equipment!
It is inhuman to punish an animal. Work From Home India
Sheba, I just have to say that while you may not consider your home a "showpiece", if your cats had anything to say they would let their friends know that their home is a "Feline Show Case."
Love this one! There are a couple things I do when one of mine is behaving badly. If it something the cat is attracted to I just substitute it for something else drawing the cats attention away from the forbidden object. If your kitty is trying to chew on wires and such you get what they call cord/wire covers that protect them from kitty. As for furniture I was use two methods, the first being double sided clear tape on the part the kitty i attracted to. Kitty does not like the sticky tape. Second is I have found that those very thin clear plastic runners for carpets are excellent for wrapping around the back and side of the chair or sofa. You can use heavy duty staples to hold them in place. Of course I don't consider my home a show piece by any means and these ideas fit in well here.
I'm totally with you Jo.One of the first things I was taught when I began vet nursing was to never punish any animal,they are not misbehaving,they are behaving naturally to their species. Another lesson was that cats bruise easily and they never forget. I already knew all this from my late mother who loved cats as I do, but hearing it from people trained to help animals confirmed it ! It upsets me every time I read of cats being punished, somme people are so cruel. As well as the punishments you listed Jo,some people hold the cat down or pick him up by his scruff and let him hang there or push their fingers in his mouth.There must be many cats living lives of fear and not knowing why they are being hurt by the very people they should be able to trust.The popular method of squirting water or any other liquid is dangerous and cruel.Any liquid inhaled by a cat can cause respiratory problems and any liquid in eyes and ears can cause infections. In 35 years of our cats treated gently and kindly, rewarded for 'good' behaviour ignored for 'bad' behaviour we've co-existed happily and respectfully with each other, people and cats. I've said for many years, people should be forced to sit a competence test before being allowed to have any pet at all.But that will never happen,so anyone can just go out and get a pet without bothering to learn the first thing about the species and then treat them in any way they want to ! Love, kindness, gentleness and respect should be the rule. Ruth
I do not believe that cats should ever be punished. I don't believe that if they were punished for some wrong doing, they would be capable of knowing what they did that was so wrong. Every living thing at some time does something wrong, but it doesn't mean that all should be punished, especially since they don't know why they are being punished.